Simone, good question. I compiled it myself using Norton Anthologies of English and American Literature as guides. I also threw in a few things I have always wanted to read. For example, Kurt Vonnegut does not appear in the Norton Anthology of American Literature! I have been meaning to read Breakfast of Champions, so I added it.

So this means that you haven’t read ANY Fitzgerald before? How on earth do you get to be 27 and not have read, at the very least, Gatsby? I’m astonished.
PS please add ‘Sometimes A Great Notion’ by Ken Kesey. It’s wonderful, you will love it.
Also, is there no Steinbeck on your list because you’ve read it all? If it’s just an omission, you should add ‘East of Eden’, because it’s probably the most important, and ‘Travels With Charley’, because it’s thoroughly enjoyable.